Bartering for a Happy Ending
by TheStarShines
Summary: When Elphaba faced Dorothy, she realized she didn't want to die, certainly not in front of Glinda. In desperation she makes a deal with Dorothy, agreeing to go to the Emerald City and talk to the Wizard. Uses pieces of the musical and book although you should be able to understand it without the book. Fiyeraba although it's not a huge part of the story
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so, here I go with a new fanfic! If you want to skip some random fan spazzing and a couple explanations skip to the underlined bit :D. I love Wicked! I had the extreme pleasure of seeing it recentlyish and fell in love (Mamie Parris was Elphaba and she was amazing!) anyways, I am now upset and have read three of the four books of the Wicked Years so this will probably be an odd mix. I was always a bit upset by the fact that Glinda and Elphaba never saw each other after she 'melted'. I also didn't like the ending where Elphaba died (loved the character way to much) so yesterday (at eleven at night which is late for me) I decided to make my own ending! Yay! And, it's going to turn into a whole different story! At least, that's the plan. **

**So, things you should know about the story: it's going to be mostly musical based (Fiyero as the Scarecrow, Elphaba and Glinda's relationship really close: NO Gelphie although it may seem implied, it is nothing but a friendship (sorry, I think their friendship is pure the way it is) however, I'm going to keep the possibility of Liir (Elphaba and Fiyero's son for those who haven't read the books) though I may not use it, and I am going to have Elphaba allergic (?) to water as she was originally.**** I think that's it! Sorry for the babbling. **

Chapter One: Melting

Elphaba took one last look at Glinda, smiled sadly, and raised a finger to her lips; stay hidden, stay quiet. She pulled the thin, rough canvas to the wall and secured it just as the patter of slipper-shad feet echoed through the room.

Dorothy shrieked at the sight of the Witch blocking her escape, if it was even that. The shrill noise pierced Elphaba's ears and, wiping her eyes of the burning tears, she flipped around mustering a face of pure anger to shoot at the farm girl. The irritating child quaked and reached for the nearest weapon; a bucket of water.

Elphaba trained her gaze on that bucket, of all the things for the girl to pick up! There was no way Dorothy knew – but the Wizard, he must know and he must have told the girl. The water sloshed innocently against the side of the wood. Dorothy's face showed determination but her eyes shown with fear as she inched forward, closer to the Witch.

For the first time since Fiyero's torture and death, Elphaba wanted to live, if not for herself, then for Glinda. Her friend was right behind that thin canvas, listening to everything that was happening maybe even fearing for Elphaba. The realization gave her a jolt and a disturbing amount of fear ran through her. Stumbling a little, she backed up into the corner made by the wall of Kiamo Ko and the canvas. Elphaba slid her fingers through a crack in the canvas behind her back and felt the reassuring pressure of Glinda's hand grasping hers.

Dorothy, however, took this retreat as a success on her part and, with more confidence; she hoisted the bucket up a little higher and took a step in Elphaba's direction.

Elphaba raised her free hand and rasped out a word, "Wait!" Great, her voice still sounded clogged with tears and her eyes must be rimmed with red; burnt with goodbye tears. She must be a real sight; green skin sickly from mourning and her hands streaked with red from tears. Trying to muster up a normal voice she tried again, "Wait!"

Dorothy stopped and looked at her in confusion, bringing the bucket down ever so slightly. She took in Elphaba's face, trying to guess at some hidden meaning. For a moment the pale skinned girl and the green faced witch just stared at each other. Elphaba could think of nothing else to say and didn't move to make another sound so Dorothy opened her mouth, "Well?"

"What?"

Dorothy gave her a look that said she clearly believed Elphaba was insane, "Well, why? What do you have to say?"

Elphaba bit her lip and wished she had both of her hands free but Glinda's grip was like a vice. She wished she could move, leave, run, anything. She always had, she'd never really answered any threat or calling. "Why do you want to kill me?"

Dorothy looked down a bit sheepishly and a small amount of water sloshed on the ground. Quickly righting the bucket, she said, "I want to go home."

Elphaba glanced warily at the trickle of water making its way towards her before saying, "Why do you have to kill me to go home?"

"The Wizard said I had to prove myself –" Glinda's fingers tightened at the familiar words, Elphaba could practically see the scene from years previous; the Wizard saying he'd like to advance her in the world if she proved herself. And she had, the spell had come so easily to her but had opened the door to a world of pain and suffering and . . . most of all, loneliness.

Dorothy had stopped talking at the expression on the Witch's face and was instead preparing to throw the water over Elphaba, she was muttering, "It's just water, water doesn't hurt anyone. It certainly doesn't kill anyone. It's just water . . ."

Glinda had apparently heard the muttering and a small sob escaped her lips. Elphaba winced at the noise and tried to slip out of Glinda's grip. If she wasn't careful, Glinda would be caught and what good would that do? Then it would only be the Wizard ruling without Glinda the Good to slow him down or soften the blow of his tyranny. But her friend was not about to let go so Elphaba bit back her pride and addressed the girl, "What do you want? What are you really here for?"

Dorothy was shocked at the desperation in the Witch's voice, "Wha- Oh. Umm, a broom and a book called the Grimmerie."

Elphaba groaned inwardly, the broom was at her side but the book – the book was with Glinda. "You don't have to kill me."

Dorothy gave her a sympathetic look, "I wish I didn't but I can't stay in this world. It's too . . ."

"Harsh, unsympathetic, overruled, beaten down." Elphaba sighed, trying to relax, "You don't have to kill me. I know the Wizard, all he wants is the broom and the Grimmerie, he doesn't care much about me." She took another breath, praying she could convince the girl that this would work, "Here's what I propose, you take me with my broom to the Emerald City. I don't have the Grimmerie but I may know where it is. I promise to go there with you."

A sound of disbelief, or maybe it was disappointment? Came from behind the canvas and the fingers let go of Elphaba's. _Thank Goodness_. Elphaba sagged a little against the wall caught between relief and guilt over making Glinda think she was going to tell the Wizard. Dorothy however, lowered the bucket.

"How do I know you won't just leave, it's not like I can overpower you."

Elphaba bit her lip and looked down. Her eyes caught on the puddle of water; that was it. Dorothy didn't think water could kill her therefore she was deceiving herself into thinking it wouldn't be murder. "I'll prove to you that you don't want to kill me."

Dorothy looked skeptical, "How will you do that?"

Elphaba knelt to the ground and reached her hand out over the puddle. Taking a deep breath, she plunged her hand into the puddle and retracted it as fast as possible biting back a scream. She pulled her hand to her chest effectively covering it from sight.

"Well?"

Shaking, Elphaba forced her hand into the light, it show bright red with terrible burns. Her whole arm felt like it was on fire and she quickly brought her hand back into the darkness, where it was protected from the cold, the wind, the light, dust, everything.

Dorothy looked sick and she gently set the bucket down; she couldn't kill someone and particularly not like that. She reached out to Elphaba, "I guess you can come with us."

**For those who love wicked, I made a facebook page called Elphie Defy Gravity (I know lame name but just ignore it) and it would make my day if more people (besides my friends and family) liked it. I really am trying hard to make it an interesting page! **

**Well, that didn't work out quite like I hoped. Sorry about that. Anyways, reviews make my day and I could use some help on this story. (no overly critical reviews though, please) It will be continued! Possibly this week (I have a chaotic week) possibly tomorrow, but who knows. Thanks to everyone who read to this part!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I got to reviews! (and yes, one was a family member) but still! Yay! And I changed this story from book to musical. I should also warn you that I never reread my writing so it's very susceptible to spelling errors particularly between thinks like show and shown. Moving on, I hope you like it!**

Elphaba rose unsteadily to her feet, ignoring Dorothy's outstretched hand. Closing her eyes against the burning of tears, she stumbled into the hall just as the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion raced around the corner, their faces masks of rage.

"What have you done with Dorothy?" The Tin Man was the first upon her, slamming her to the wall with his arm over her throat.

"Hey!" Dorothy darted out of the door looking flustered. What had she been doing? "Stop that!"

The Tin Man looked at Dorothy as though he believed she'd lost her mind, "What?"

"I said let her go!"

Elphaba tried to use her good hand to push away his arm, "Boq! Listen to –"

That was the wrong thing to say, he whirled on her, "Listen to _you_? Are you joking –"

But Dorothy had had enough, "Let her go right now! She's coming with us."

The Cowardly Lion looked down sheepishly and twirled his tail around his finger, "A-Are you s-sure?"

Elphaba tried to send a glare over to the Lion Cub she'd rescued all those years ago but Boq shook her slightly, his grip loosening a bit. Dorothy moved to pull him off Elphaba, "I said, for the third time, let her go! She's agreed to come with us!"

Reluctantly, Boq lether down and she slid to the floor, coughing. "How can you trust her? She was the one who set her monkeys on the Scarecrow! She's El - The Wicked Witch of the West! She made me like this!"

Dorothy looked down at the Witch, "Did you really make him like this?"

Elphaba used her good hand to stumble to her feet, "Which part?"

"I have no heart! I'm made of tin! I'm hardly a real person anymore!"

Elphaba glared at him, "Being made of tin doesn't make you any less real than anyone else. And that's all I did and I did it to save you! Nessa made a mistake . . ."

"A mistake!"

Dorothy was beyond confused, "Stop! Just slow down, could someone please explain to me what is going on?"

The Tin Man gave Elphaba a very pointed look that clearly said it was to be her job. She glared at him, "Fine. I'll start from the beginning. We went to school together; Me, Nessa, and Boq –"

"So you're Boq? That's your real name?" Dorothy looked a little startled.

Boq scoffed, "Did you really think my name was Tin Man? That Brrr's name was the Cowardly Lion? That the Scarecrow's name was –"

"Of course not." Dorothy looked offended, "You just never told me and I thought it rude to ask. Though now . . . What's your name? I don't suppose it's the Wicked Witch of the West."

"No, my father hated magic, it was anti-religious in his eyes. My name was Elphaba after Saint Aelphaba."

"Was?"

Elphaba nodded, "Things . . . bad things . . . happened. It resulted in a gruesome death of someone I loved. I don't use that name anymore . . ."

Boq rolled his eyes, "Self-pity. Lovely. Moving on with the story."

Elphaba glared at him, "We all went to school together. Boq was set up with Nessa by Glinda –"

"The Glinda? Glinda the Good?" Dorothy interrupted.

"Again, really?" Elphaba said in frustration, "Yes, the Glinda. But we are not going to talk about her. I don't want her name caught up in all this. Anyways, Nessa fell in love with Boq and he certainly seemed to be in love with her."

"Now wait just a moment!"

"No!" Elphaba pushed on, "I'm finishing this story, my hand feels like it's about to fall off and I'd love to get through this as quickly as possible. They were together for a long time. I don't know exactly what happened but when I visited Nessa a couple years after I went underground he didn't love her but she wouldn't let him go. Boq broke her heart. He said he was going after Glinda, to stop her from marrying Fi – Fiyero . . . ."

They all waited for her to continue but she just looked at the ground, tears threatening to spill over. Finally Dorothy said, "Um. . . Elphaba . . . I'm sorry but what can I call you? Could you finish please? So we can leave without Boq trying to kill you?"

"Yes, yes of course. Anyways he said, 'I lost my heart to Glinda the moment I saw her, you know that.' And she whirled on him, you could tell she was devastated. Nessa tried to use my spell book – the Grimmerie - to make him love her. But she couldn't read it, she pronounced the spell all wrong and his heart started to shrink, to disappear. In order to save him, I turned him to tin. I don't know what happened after that, I was long gone."

Dorothy nodded, "Okay everybody. Are we good? Can we stop trying to kill each other? 'Cause the Scarecrow's just laying out there in pieces, we should go help."

Silently, Elphaba began to lead the way out (Kiamo Ko was quite the maze after all). She pulled her large, waterproof cape around her and opened the doors. The sun was shining but the land was deadened by the approaching winter. Dorothy shivered and walked a little closer to Brrr.

The group cut through the courtyard and began down a cobbled road. At this point, Dorothy took the lead while the Lion and Boq stood like guards on either side of Elphaba who just stared at the ground.

"Oh look!" Dorothy pointed at a clump of straw at the side of the road, "There he is!"

The three companions rushed to the lump on the side of the road, leaving Elphaba looking like a lost child in the middle of the street; head hiding under the hat and eyes downcast. Dorothy helped up the scarecrow who looked around in confusion, "What happened? I want to talk to her! The Witch I want to –"

"It's okay, it's okay," Dorothy said, "She's not going to hurt you –"

"Hurt _me_? I want to talk to her! You haven't . . . you haven't . . ." He looked up at Dorothy with pleading eyes.

At this outburst, Elphaba had glanced over. As her eyes took him in, an odd jolt went through her stomach. Sensing her stare, the Scarecrow turned his face towards her, his mouth dropping open a little bit. Boq followed his gaze and, upon reaching Elphaba's face he stood with a loud clanking.

"Don't you dare come near him! You've done enough damage!"

Elphaba flinched at his accusation and turned away, holding her damaged hand close and muttered to herself, "He's dead. He's gone. Don't make this poor thing suffer under your hopes. Don't wish. Don't start."

The Scarecrow made an attempt to get up but failed, "Help me! Help me up!" Dorothy grasped his arm and pulled him to her side. "Bring me to her." Dorothy glared at him so he relented a bit, "Please."

Boq rushed over to the Scarecrow, "Don't let her back in – Don't, Fiyero, don't -"

"Fiyero?" Elphaba flipped around, face shining with disbelief and hope all at once.

**End of Chapter Two! I'm going to continue shamelessly advertising my facebook page, it's called Elphie Defy Gravity and I'd love for it to have more likes! And a huge thanks to my first to reviewers! (Anyone can review this story regardless of whether or not you have an account) Constructive criticism is appreciated so are any reviews really and thanks a ton for reading this story! It will be continued!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I love all you people that reviewed! You made my day! Particularly GreenFaeLovesYero who said they'd like my facebook page as well :D Oh! Another thing I meant to say. I'm basing descriptions mostly off the book (along with various other facts) but I lent my book out so if I get some things wrong please forgive me. So here we go . . . **

Boq looked as though he wanted to punch himself but Fiyero pushed past him and nearly fell at Elphaba's feet. She caught a limp arm as he went crashing towards the ground, hauling him up, she stared deep into his eyes. She felt breathless, "Fiyero . . . it's you . . . isn't it?"

The Scarecrow nodded silently, drinking in her warm earth toned eyes and long black hair as straight and silky as ever. His brain seemed to take forever to process her existence, as exhausted as it seemed.

Elphaba no longer looked like a tired, broken woman though. Instead, her face lit up with happiness and she seemed to be the school girl he'd met all those years ago; with so much faith in the world. She gathered him up in her arms and hugged him close, "Oh, Fiyero . . . ."

Boq pulled Fiyero away, his face wounded at the loss of sympathy from the only other person who understood what he'd been through, "Remember what she did –"

Fiyero craned his head to see Boq's face, "What she _did_? Elphaba _saved _us! We wouldn't even be here! Tell me you'd rather be dead than tin."

Elphaba stared at Fiyero in surprise, "You honestly aren't blaming me? You for-forgive me . . . ?"

Fiyero tried to reach out to her but Dorothy stepped in between them. Dorothy was feeling left out, abandoned by her new friends. "Please help me understand what in Oz (as I've heard) is going on."

Neither Fiyero nor Elphaba wanted to say anything, not yet. Boq, however, jumped at a chance to get back at Elphaba, "She turned him into a scarecrow! She's the reason he has no sense. If he did, he'd stay far away from her!"

Both Elphaba and Fiyero made sounds of protest but Dorothy held up a hand, "No. I don't want to hear any more out of either of you. Not because I don't believe your side but because I can't have any more nonsense that the three of you spit out every time you speak in my head. We're going to the Emerald City, just as before. Elphaba or the Witch, whichever you prefer, is going to talk to the Wizard. Fiyero's going to get sewn back together and he's going to get his brains back, Boq will get his heart so he can stop hating, and Brrr, is that right?, is going to get his courage. I am going back home, as fast as possible."

Fiyero glanced at Elphaba, worry clouding his eyes. She couldn't see the Wizard, there was no telling what would happen. She saw him looking at her and smiled sadly.

"Boq, pick up Fiyero and go down the path first, I'll follow and Elphaba can walk next to me. Brrr you'll go last and make sure she doesn't run, alright?" And with that, Dorothy picked up Toto and nudged Boq forward.

The group traveled in silence for hours, the Lion twirling his tail nervously in the back, his eyes on Elphaba's discouraged walk. Fiyero was silently reprimanding Boq with his eyes but the Tin Man was looking forward determinedly. Dorothy was the only one who seemed truly glad to be on her way.

They reached a small village they had gone through on the way there, where they had been happily received. Dorothy's face lit up and Brrr seemed slightly less nervous. Elphaba, on the other hand, ducked her head, trying to hide her green face under a curtain of hair. She tried to pull her hands into her sleeves but her injured hand burned like fire and nearly caused her to scream out. As it was, only a gasp escaped. Fiyero tried to see over Boq's shoulder, trying yet again to see Elphaba but Boq simply hunched his shoulders and continued on.

Darkness was falling and a man came out to meet them, swinging a torch, "It's Dorothy!" He smiled at the brown haired girl, "Did you succeed then? Is she gone?"

Dorothy pushed her way to the front, "Ummm, not exactly, but she's coming with us to the Wizard."

The man looked nervous, "She's with you?"

"Elphaba!" Dorothy beckoned to the figure hiding in the Tin Man's shadow. Elphaba stepped into the light and the man stumbled backwards at the color of her skin.

"Elphaba? I'll get you some chains for the Witch –"

Fiyero squirmed, trying to wriggle out of Boq's arms, "No!"  
The man gave him a strange look, "You can't honestly think we're letting you into the village with that thing unbound."

Dorothy shot an apologetic look at Elphaba but nodded to the man who rushed off immediately. Elphaba just looked down, ashamed of her weakness but if this was what it took . . .

The chains chaffed against the soft skin of her wrists and made her wince as the man roughly pulled her through the village. Seeing his prisoner, the villagers clapped him and Dorothy on the back, leering at Elphaba. Fiyero closed his eyes and tried to ignore their circumstances. Boq, on the other hand, looked as if all of his beliefs were justified.

When they reached the inn the man tugged Elphaba towards the back, while gesturing the group forward. The Tin Man rushed forward with Fiyero and Brrr stumbled along behind them glancing nervously at the fire. Dorothy made to follow but stopped, "Where are you going with her?"

"She's not sleeping in the inn. I know the owners, they won't put such wickedness in the same building with good people. It's either the stables in the back or the street. Believe me, the stables are kinder – not that she deserves such kindness." But his voice wavered slightly. The Witch just wasn't what he'd expected; she'd done nothing cruel in his eyesight. She hadn't kicked or glared or even rebuffed the curious children that had congregated around her as they walked through the city. The Witch's eyes weren't even hard and cold as everyone had said.

Dorothy nodded and disappeared into the building and the man tugged Elphaba to the stables where he attached and locked her chains to a large, metal ring. He made sure there was enough length on the chains to allow her to sit and even lie down comfortably. On his way out he turned and the moonlight illuminated his brown curls and dark blue eyes, full of confusion.

He bit his lip nervously and sheepishly said, "I'm Adam and . . ."

Elphaba looked up, shaking her hair out of her eyes. For a moment the two of them stared at each other before Adam looked down at his tattered boots and muttered something to himself. He reached into a pocket and pulled at a piece of stale bread and quickly tossed it at Elphaba's feet before he could change his mind.

For a moment it seemed as if he wanted to say something else but Adam flipped around and walked as quickly away as his dignity could allow.

Stunned, Elphaba picked up the piece of bread. Examining it, she slid to the floor and muttered, "Maybe there is hope."

**Tada! Another chapter! I'm still not sure whether I hate or like this story, sometimes it seems dumb and other times I rather like it. Hmmmm. Anyways, I'd love to hear from any of my readers about what they think (who doesn't like review?) Same thing about the facebook page: Elphie Defy Gravity **

**I'm also trying to add some happiness to this so thanks to everyone who's sticking with it! I love even you silent readers who gave this story a shot! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked, the book or the musical You know what? One day I want someone to say that they do own it on this site. Wouldn't that be so cool? Unfortunately I can't say that though I'd like to :) **

The first rays of sunlight startled Elphaba awake and she stared in shock and the warm golden glow that had been absent from her life for years. The chains clanked noisily, causing an irritated 'moo' from across the stables. Elphaba smiled almost against her will but it quickly vanished when a pail crashed noisily to the floor.

A little girl, maybe seven stood there, mouth wide open as she took in Elphaba's green complexion. Elphaba felt like lowering her head and hiding; she hated the way children were so frightened of her, some even screamed at her skin. She fixed her gaze on a piece of straw a couple feet in front of her and hid her hands and feet beneath her gown.

The girl picked up her bucket and put it off to the side before creeping slowly forward. When she reached the green woman she knelt down, her maroon patched dress crumpling underneath her. "You're green, are you sick? I'm Valerie."

The caring in the girl's high little voice touched Elphaba and she looked into Valerie's sun-kissed face. "No, I'm fine."

"Then why are you green?" Valerie sat down and stared at Elphaba's face in fascination.

Elphaba shrugged causing a clinking from the ever bothersome chains. "I was born with green skin, the same way you were born with red hair and brown eyes."

Valerie nodded, children were so accepting, so trusting. Her eyes followed the chains upward to the ring and her eyebrows came closer together in confusion, "Why do you have those?"

Elphaba sighed, what was she supposed to say? She glanced at the door for the child's parents or Fiyero or even Boq but no one was out there. "It's just because no one trusts me."

"Why?"

Elphaba opened her mouth but was cut off by an angry shout, "Valerie!"

A woman with curly auburn hair like Valerie's ran inside and pulled the girl away from Elphaba. After checking her child for injuries she stepped in front of the girl, "What did you do? What poison have you spread?"  
"Mama, she didn't hurt me at all! Why are you mad?"

"Valerie, go to Papa, get out of here."

The little girl peered around her mother's skirts at Elphaba and said, "I don't know her name."

The mother silently cursed her daughter's curiosity, "It's Witch, now go. Darling, please go."

"Actually, it's Elphaba." The green woman smiled gently at the girl and made a small shooing motion with her hand.

Valerie seemed a bit reluctant to leave but slowly backed out the door. The mother sighed in relief before turning a steely glare at Elphaba, "Who said you could stay in here?"

Elphaba glared right back, feeling a bit of her own spunk coming back, "It's not actually my choice." She lifted her handcuffed wrists. "A man called Adam put me here."

The woman put her hands on her hips and surveyed the green figure in front of her, "Who did you come here with?"

Elphaba never broke eye contact and never opened her mouth as if to say: Who do you think? The auburn haired woman made an irritated noise and stalked out of the room. Within moments she was back, dragging a very confused and bedraggled Dorothy.

"You need to leave. And take _her _with you."

"What?"

"You heard me! I didn't agree to the Wicked Witch sleeping on my land. There's my family, my _child_ to think about! Not to mention the maybe twenty other guests that didn't agree to putting their lives at risk for the sake of a roof over that green things head!"

Elphaba jerked to her feet and lurched toward the woman, swinging her hand to slap her. The chains jerked noisily and pulled her back. Elphaba's face was a mask of anger, "I am not a thing! I'm not wicked! I didn't even _touch _your child!"

The woman stumbled backwards and knocked over a pile of horse shoes and rakes. Dorothy shrieked, now fully awake, and jumped to the side: right into a lump of moldy hay. A burly man carrying a kitchen knife ran into the stable, surveying for the source of the commotion.

His fierce brown eyes lighted on Elphaba who was shaking with fury and he rushed to her side, holding the knife to her neck. Almost immediately, she became stock still but not before a small slice had painted her green skin red.

The whole room stilled; the woman lying on her back amidst pieces of metal, Dorothy frozen in the act of getting up, and Elphaba trying to stay still despite the pain in her burnt hand that had been revived by her jerking the chains that chaffed her wrists unbearably.

The man nervously shifted his feet and looked at the woman, his wife, no doubt. She nodded; her face full of fear and hatred. He brought the blade harder against Elphaba's neck and red trickled down in rivulets. She winced backwards, looking down in horror at the knife smeared with her blood. But he grasped her head and forced in backwards, fully exposing her neck.

"STOP! What are you _doing_?" Fiyero dragged himself forward, through the door.

Behind him the Tin Man stood, his mouth open wide in shock, his arms hanging loosely by his sides after dropping Fiyero.

The man jumped at the sight of such abnormal figures and hid behind Elphaba, keeping his knife in position. Dorothy scrambled up, almost falling. She helped Fiyero to stand although he grunted with frustration at his inability to protect Elphaba.

Dorothy pulled the Scarecrow forward causing the man to pull Elphaba back as far as they could go. "Let her go." Dorothy was huffing slightly under the weight; she was only ten after all.

But the man was panicked and said, "No! She'll kill us all! Why would you bring such a monster to this town! Why would you not kill it?" A crazed look appeared on his face, "Unless . . . You're on its side! That's it! You're conspiring to do in this town! I knew it! The Wizard won't care! He might even have asked you to kill us! I don't doubt that the Witch could kill us all! She probably wants to!"

"What? No –"

But even as Fiyero jolted forward on his tattered legs, the man drew the blade violently across Elphaba's neck and she crumpled to the floor her blood splattering his shoes.

"NO!"

Cliffy :D First off the reason this chapter turned tragic is because I've been listening to 'On My Own' and 'A Little Fall of Rain' from Les Misérables and then decided to look up the biography for the character Éponine and it turns out that she dies tragically so my writing was a bit influenced. (If you haven't heard the songs I strongly suggest you listen to them :D Lea Salonga from the 10th Anniversary would be good :D)

**It's not a fact that Elphaba's going to die (She's my favorite character after all and I don't do character death) so you can all take a deep breath. However, I seem to love increasing character suffering, sorry about that. I'm practicing action scenes. **

**Facebook Page: Elphie Defy Gravity (Thank you sooo much to the two readers (One of which is GreenFaeLovesYero) who liked the page 3 You guys made my day)**

**I love reviews! And don't give up on this story, it's not over, and it won't all be a tragedy, I'm just trying to keep things moving. Opinions are loved :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**I love you guys! Everyone who's read this far! :D And the people that comment/like my facebook page are AMAZING! Thank you sososo much (how many times can I say it?)**

**But moving on: Cliff hangers are really terrible aren't they? And I can't resist writing so there goes my attempt at suspense**

"NO!" The high pitched sound echoed through the room and a flurry of blue darted through the door. The figure raced to Elphaba's side, pulling her into her lap and attempting to stop the flow of blood.

"G-Glinda?" Fiyero pulled himself forward as the rest of the room stared in shock.

"Elphie . . . _Elphie_ . . . ELPHIE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice tearing raggedly at the last word. She flung her sparkling wand violently to the side where it crashed against the floor.

The wand shattered and, as it's pieces spread in all directions, the room turned violently blue; the walls looked like they were underwater, the floor as if it were the floor of the sea, and the people as if they were freezing cold. All the people but Elphaba who had retained her now dull green look. The blood lifted in the water and swirled to create images:

"_Bright? She's Flousflourescent!" _

"_Oooo Pink goes good with green . . ."_

"_Come with me, to the Emerald City . . ."_

"_I want to remember this moment always . . . Nobodies staring and nobodies pointing."_

"_I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this. You too, I hope it brings you bliss, I really hope you get it and you don't live to regret it!"_

"_Do you think I like hearing all those awful things about her? I hate it!"_

"_Elphie? Oh thank Oz you're alive! Oh you shouldn't of come! If anyone dicoverates you . . ."_

"_Fine! Go then! You deserve each other!"_

"_Use her sister! Spread a rumor, make her think her sisters in danger and she will rush to her side then you will have her."_

"_Oh Elphie, you mustn't blame yourself . . ."_

"_He doesn't love you and he never did! He loves ME!"_

"_Go away. – They're coming for you – Go away!"_

"_Elphie, you can't go on like this – I can do whatever I want! I'm the Wicked Witch of the West!"_

"_You're the only friend I've ever had. – And I've had so many friends . . . but only one that mattered."_

Bright light flashed across the room, nearly blinding all the blue figures but when it disappeared, the gash that had marred Elphaba's flesh was scabbed over and she was breathing unsteadily. Glinda stared at her friend in shock and then began to cry, cupping her hands around her cheeks to stop the water from falling on her friends face.

"Wh-what just h-happened?" Dorothy rubbed her eyes, trying to erase the black spots that were flickering across her vision.

Glinda ignored her, trying instead to find Elphaba's pulse, to see how bad her wound was. She shouted in frustration, slamming her hands to the floor, "I can't do this! I don't know! I don't know . . . "

Fiyero pulled himself over and pushed his body into a sitting position next to her, "It's ok. She'll be fine." Inside, he twisted away from the sight; terrified of losing the one woman who he'd ever really loved. Tackling his fear, he said, "Glinda? Could you maybe . . ."

"Take her to a doctor?" Dorothy said bossily, rolling her eyes at their lack of wisdom in a crisis.

Glinda swiped her tears away hurriedly and nodded, "O-of course, of course. I just really hope this works . . ."

She waved her hand slowly to her right and a large blue bubble wrapped around the two witches, trying to adjust itself to their positions. At the astonished expressions of everyone in the room Glinda laughed hoarsely, "I don't need a wand to do magic, you know. Although," She added worriedly, "It does make the spell a lot stronger . . . I hope this holds."

The bubble began to rise, trembling with effort as it got smaller, preparing to take them away. The innkeeper whimpered at such a display of magic and Glinda fixed her eyes on him, "You will be sorry and if I find out that you are unkind in any way to the rest of my friends then you will regret it tenfold."

With that, the pair disappeared.

*WICKED*DEFYINGGRAVITY*PINKGOESWELLWITHGREEN*WELLWECAN'TALLCOMEANDGOBYBUBBLE*

The bubble dropped them as Glinda feared it would; she'd never been a very strong sorceress particularly without a wand but she couldn't help the feeling of despair as she glanced around. At least, by some strange force in the universe, they hadn't fallen but simply drifted down.

Glinda was in despair, she was alone in the middle of a road with a severely injured green girl. Sometimes, Elphaba took so long to take a breath that Glinda feared she was dead but it had all been alright because they'd been on their way to somewhere . . . somewhere where someone would help them.

Glinda stood up, determined to at least make sure Elphaba survived the night, "Elphie, you are _not _about to die on me."

She half carried, half dragged the green girl gently to the side of the road which was, incidentally, yellow. Worriedly, she looked around but all she could see was black, night had fallen on Oz and the moon was covered by clouds that threatened to rain. Glinda bit her lip and prayed to the Unknown God for something . . . anything . . .

And the skies lit with a fire so bright it illuminated the horizons on all sides, showing the outline of a village not three yards away. Glinda nearly shrieked in surprise but covered her mouth in time; the last thing she wanted to do was alert any bandits to her presence, to Elphaba's presence.

She knelt next to Elphaba, examining her face which was sickly green, nearly yellow. The green girl was shivering but her skin burned to the touch. Glinda looked over the neck wound; surely it was too recent for it to have given her blood poisoning or have gotten infected.

Elphaba shuddered violently and another sight caught Glinda's eye the made her heart sink: Elphaba's burnt hand looked worse than ever. The burns were black on the edges and pus leaked out of some of them. The iron shackles. They'd been crusted with rust that had no doubt flaked into the already possibly infected hand.

She wanted to heal the burns, bind them in some way but Glinda knew that she could now do nothing. She felt utterly powerless, a feeling she'd never felt before; there'd always been someone to turn to, someplace . . . to . . . _go! _

Glinda swirled up and around, the town was still visible; still lit by the fire in the skies she couldn't worry about. She took one last look at Elphaba, she had to leave her; to stay was to condemn her friend to death.

As the figure all decked out in blue raced towards the illuminated village. A beast, as red as blood with eyes as cold as eyes lifted its head in success, and, if dragons can smile, this creature did as it called its kind to where he was, circling over the motionless Elphaba.

**Ooo! Look what I did! I incorporated the dragons from the book! So proud of myself: ) So, it comes time for me to beg for reviews; Please Please Please! I'd love to hear what you think, even if it's negative!**

**Facebook Page (For Wicked): Elphie Defy Gravity**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the absence: No internet and I was on vacation so I didn't write much, just spent a lot of time with my family. Oh! One thing I wanted to clear up. I'm sort of pretending that the time between Act 1 and Act 2 of the play isn't that long. Book wise it's like twentyish years between the time when Glinda and Elphaba part ways to the time they meet up again. Of course in the book, none of this could ever have happened. Anyways, that's why I still refer to them as girls and why they're so naïve **

**Enjoy!**

Glinda felt as if the village was miles away. Thunder echoed in the distance and when she turned she could see a mass of fog approaching threatening to conceal Elphaba, who was now nothing but a small green line amidst clumps of brown grass. Shaking her head in worry at her friend's motionless body, she turned back towards the village, determination lit her face and she hurried on, never looking back.

*WICKED*

The dragon that was red as blood swooped to the ground, examining the girl before him. He'd never seen anyone quite like her, not in his hundred and twenty years. All the humans he'd ever seen had been grossly pink. He nudged her gently with a claw extracting a moan and shudder, as if Elphaba was trying to wake up. Indeed, her eyes did flicker in effort and with, what seemed like a huge amount of effort, they opened, revealing her warm brown irises unfocused with fever.

The dragon glared down at her as she struggled to make sense of her predicament before it turned its head skyward.

Six dragons, all with scales of different colors and hues, descended in a spiral. They landed with ground shaking thumps and their leader glared at them after checking to make sure Glinda hadn't turned around.

Elphaba tried to push herself up while holding her hand, which felt as if it would fall off, to her chest. Pain shot across her neck, sending a wave of nausea to her head and, in defeat, she collapsed to the ground hoping to at least stay conscious.

The red beast looked at her, wondering if it was even worth it. Would she even make it through the night? He did owe it to the Creator to try but would he really be happy if the dragon turned up with a dead green girl? For all the beast knew, it could be the sparkly one he was supposed to take. The Creator had said that he would know and the green one was the more obvious choice.

The dragon gave a stately nod to his companions and maneuvered himself over Elphaba, gently picking her up, his talons cradling her safely. The others circled around, marveling at the sight of their leader attempting to save the enemy; the Ozians had been the ones to hunt their kind to near extinction and although the dragons had no idea what to label green Elphaba as, they could tell she was of the same size and shape as an Ozian.

The leader paid no attention to their dubious looks, instead focusing his strength on gently lifting off without crushing the girl. Elphaba started to panic and tried to cling to the ground with her good hand. But this little bit of movement was too much, there was a roaring in her ears and black spots converging across her vision as she collapsed, motionless as a ragdoll.

*WICKED*

Glinda had, in fact, turned around at the sound of the dragons landing but all she could see was fog and the Yellow Brick Road about a foot in each direction. She bit her lip as she peered into the fog, willing it to at least lighten. She stayed like this until a clap of thunder jolted her back to the present moment.

In a swirl of blue she darted the last couple yards to the village, tripping brilliantly at the last moment and falling in a heap in front of the first little cottage. A drop of water landed on her arm, sending shivers across her skin. Despair crashed in and she ceased to try to get up; what was the point? Elphie would be covered with burns, probably dead by the time she found someone to help. The chances of someone in this town agreeing to help who they considered to be the Wicked Witch of the West were slim anyways. And so she stayed face down on the Yellow Brick road, alone.

The cottage door creaked open and a man, muscular from working in the fields, stepped out to get some relief from a bawling baby. When he saw the unmoving blue form at the edge of his property he rushed toward her.

"Miss?" He turned her over gently, hoping the cold drizzle would wake her up but her blue eyes were already open, a hopeless look on her face. He shook his head in pity and helped her to her feet. As soon as she was standing he jumped back, shock crossing his features, "Glinda! Glinda the Good! Oh – " he fell to his knees, "Forgive me! I – didn't know!"

She swiped the tears from her face and looked down at him, "What? No . . . no, you're fine . . ." Glinda held a hand out to the man, noting the erratic drizzle . . . maybe, maybe it wasn't too late.

The man stood in shock, looking at the woman who was, on closer inspection, no more than a girl. Glinda the Good had always inspired happiness in the world, always greeted everyone with a smile but her expression now made her nearly unrecognizable. She definitely wasn't smiling; her forehead was creased with worry, tears drying on her cheeks. Suddenly she focused her attention on him, hope highlighting her face.

Glinda examined the man, "If I asked you to do something, would you do it? Even if you thought you were doing the wrong thing? Even if it involved rescuing someone who you thought was your enemy?"

The man hesitated, there were boundaries he wouldn't cross but he highly doubted that Glinda would ask him to cross them so he nodded. Glinda smiled, her joy after so much sadness, made her look slightly crazy. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the road.

"Where are we going?" He began to worry that he'd gotten himself into something way too big.

"I have a friend . . . she's severely injured, and umm, the rain is really not good for her." Glinda looked at him in worry, wondering if he would catch on. When his eyes stayed blank of realization she broke into a run, forcing him to follow her instead of contemplating the circumstances.

Within minutes they were on the outside of the fog and Glinda strained her eyes to see Elphaba in the dark. The fire of triumph lit the skies and Glinda, with her eyes focused on the ground, saw a smear of blood. _Where is she?_ Glinda raced to the side of the road, pawing among the grass for a sign of her friend.

"G-Glinda?"

"_What?" _She turned her gaze towards him, falling back in shock as the bright scales of the dragons caught her eye. The man stayed silent, his mouth agape at the sight of the mythical creatures.

Glinda shot up and stumbled for ward, her eyes dilating in fear. And that was when a green speck caught her eye, "No . . . no . . . ELPHIE!"

She raced towards the dragons, running off the Yellow Brick Road and across the field, her dress tearing violently against cornstalks and jutting rocks. This flurry of movement jolted the man into the moment and he raced after her.

"Elphie! Elphie! You bring her back! Now!" Tears streamed down Glinda's cheeks, as they seemed to be doing all day, as the group of monsters shrunk even farther into the distance. Lightning flashed across the sky and the drizzle changed to sleet. Within moments Glinda was soaked to the bone, scratched, and a real mess; hardly recognizable. She collapsed into a shivering ball.

The man caught up with her, out of breath. He kneeled in front of her, a hard look in his eyes. "Is your friend green?"

**Okay, I know it's not particularly long, I really intended it to be longer. Oh well. Well, I'm going to reread it so hopefully that'll help some of my fluidity problems : )**

**Wicked Facebook page: Elphie Defy Gravity **


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